NOVEL WEB Chapter 9: Magic 102
Chapter 9: Magic 102
Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station
As we only have one hour to get some food, we decide to just get some sandwiches and sit down to eat next to a small lake on level 27. I glance at Simon. “Why didn’t you sit back down when he shocked us earlier? Didn’t you feel that it will stop when you sit down?”
He frowns in confusion and the others direct their curious glances at me too. “Why would I feel that? I just stood up and then there was the pain of the electric shock.”
He didn’t feel anything? Maybe he was distracted by the shock. I have to dig deeper. “You know just how we felt that we could only walk in a specific direction when the Space Rangers led us around the Verdinum?”
That causes even more confusion. “No, I didn’t feel a thing… And what are you talking about feeling where you can walk on the Verdinum? That has not happened to me.” He shakes his head. “Maybe you are stronger than me and this is a trait of strong Space Mages?”
Huh. Maybe that is the explanation. Anyway, the test will tell later. “Maybe you’re right, I guess, I’ll ask the Space magic instructor tomorrow. Maybe they’re more likable than that Brennan dude. I hope they are a Mage at least…”
We continue eating, then we talk a bit more about what we’ve learned today. The others share my outrage about being slaves and are also very annoyed about not being able to choose their path on their own. Jack in particular voices his objection very loudly. I’m pleased to find out that Lucy shares my thoughts about there being more to magic than what that Brennan dude told us. Especially the fact that there is no way to learn more than one class of magic. We both agree that this can’t be true.
There are always more mysteries to solve! But time is short, and we soon find ourselves back in the lecture hall on level 49. This time the instructor is already waiting for everyone to arrive. Once the last student is inside the room, the doors close automatically, and the instructor continues with the lecture.
“As I’ve told you before the break, we will now do a quick dive into the two main classes. First off there is the A&D class. This is the short form of Attack and Defense. Most of the stronger ones of you will be assigned this class. The main employer of this Mage class is of course our military. In case you don’t know, there are three branches: Star Force, Space Rangers, and Planetary Force.”
Looks like his free use of the collar’s shock function earlier had quite an effect on all students, as no one complains anymore about the assignment of the classes.
Because I doubt never being able to do another class of magic, I still write down everything I deem important. Even if the A&D class isn’t relevant for me now.
“Other possible employments are becoming a bodyguard or working for other security services. In rare cases, A&D Mages are also employed in mining operations, as they can destroy parts of asteroids to get better access to the ores.”
I grimace, remembering a part of Thomas’s letter. He is only allowed to learn defensive spells. Of course, the instructor would only announce jobs with a defensive focus. The oh-so-glorious republic can’t have their slaves knowing how to fight back after all…
The only exception is the mining job… maybe only the extremely weak ones get that duty? I mean he said parts of asteroids. I have to say, being an A&D Mage sounds kinda lame… at least here in the republic. Maybe it’s more appealing when using the full potential of the class elsewhere? I sure hope so.
I make a mental note to explore my RHT database for information about other nations outside of the Estriduros Republic. It will be blocked probably, but maybe they forgot a few pages on the net.
There has to be a place where Mages are not treated as trash, right? I mean according to Thomas’s digging, Earth – the origin of humanity – was destroyed in a war between a Mage faction and an anti-Mage faction… So if the republic came to be out of remnants of such an anti-Mage faction – my own speculation – there should be at least remnants of the Mage faction too, right?
I almost miss the continuation of the lecture. “…examples of spells an A&D Mage may be using, depending on which jobs they are going to do after the academy. First and foremost, there are shielding spells. They come in many forms and every A&D Mage at the academy will learn one of them at least. Next, there are other kinds of spells for example redirection and reflection of attacks or objects, restriction of movement, and even small explosions. You will learn more about A&D magic in case you are assigned this class in the dedicated A&D lessons.”
He really keeps the attack options as minimal as possible. Small explosions, I almost snort out loud when thinking about that fact. As if offensive magic is restricted to small explosions. Finishing my notes for the A&D class, I look up to find out that the lecturer has already changed the heading of the big screen to Utility. He glances at the empty air before himself before continuing.
“As the final topic, before we have a small practical presentation, we have the Utility Mage class. As the name says, Utility Mages do utility things. That means most of their spells can be replaced by technology. The one advantage a Utility Mage brings is instantaneous long-range Communication. If they are strong enough, even across star systems. Another example of Utility magic is Telekinesis, but that’s pretty much redundant because we have gravity generators if we want to transport things. Again, you’ll learn more once you are in the dedicated lecture about Utility magic. Utility Mages are mostly used in the civilian sector, as they lack the defensive capabilities A&D Mages have. Sometimes they are also on starships, to coordinate maneuvers across multiple star systems.”
Wow, that man must hate Mages with a passion… Way to ruin the mood of young people when you tell them they have a 50 percent chance of being assigned a magic class that is useless.
But still, I don’t believe a single thing this man says… Utility magic can’t be useless. Not with a name like this. He must be leaving out large parts of Utility magic too… All I heard about magic today sounds so boring and almost useless. And this just can’t be! If magic were so weak why was there such a massive war that destroyed Earth?
Now that I am a Mage, I really hope to experience real magic in the future. I have to find Shay and Thomas, then we try to leave the republic and explore the universe! Maybe even with Lucy and the boys if they are willing.
“Now please welcome two of the instructors of the classes I just introduced to you.” The voice of instructor Brennan interrupts my thoughts again.
The door next to the stage opens and makes way for a petite blonde woman in her fifties and a sturdily built man with dark skin and a short black military cut. They walk up to the stage and stand to the left and right of the instructor with about 5 meters of space between each person. “To my left, we have A&D Mage Franklin Jones.” He indicates the man, then the woman. “And to my right, there is Utility Mage Ines Ferdinand.”
He nods at the man, who nods back, then he opens the drawer of the stage and pulls out… A LASER GUN? Holy hell does he want to kill the man? In one smooth motion, he lifts the gun and fires at the other man. The whole audience gasps in shock. In a brilliant flash of blue light, a barrier appears around the Mage and swallows the green laser bolt. The barrier disappears and the Mage remains unharmed, bowing lightly to the audience. This… wow… I thought with presentation he meant showing us a shield and that’s it. Who would’ve expected him to pull out a real gun?
The instructor puts the gun away and returns his gaze to the assembled Mages. “That was a short insight into the field of A&D magic. Next, behold the power of Utility magic.”
He gives a go-ahead sign to the woman, and I hold my breath in anticipation. Maybe magic in the republic isn’t as boring as it sounded after all. But I still believe that there is more. The woman closes her eyes in concentration, then suddenly the whole stage lifts and floats a meter over the ground. Then it moves a bit to the left and the right, before setting down again. Everyone lets out the breath they’ve been holding. Me included.
“That concludes today’s lecture! If you want you can come up to the stage and ask the instructors some questions, but keep in mind that you don’t know which class you’ll be having in the future, so I recommend going to the power assessment first and asking your questions tomorrow after the lectures. You’ll find the information about the assessment on your tablets. You are dismissed!” He turns around and leaves the room. The sound of conversation rises instantly.
“That was intense,” Lucy says in a whisper.
“True,” I reply. “Let’s get out of here.” She nods and quickly tells the others, then we go out and take the next elevator back down to the place on level 27, where we ate our lunch earlier.
“In what class do you think you’ll end up? For Simon and me it’s already clear, but what are your preferences?” I ask them as soon as we sit down.
The others think a little bit before Greg starts. “Personally, I’d like to be Utility, it sounds kinda cool with Telekinesis and all that stuff, even if the instructor said it’s useless. I don’t believe it… But I think I’ll end up as an A&D Mage, just like my dad…” I can see his mood dropping and decide not to ask a follow-up question.
Jack too voices his preference for Utility but for a different reason. “I don’t want to be on a starship all the time. I need solid ground under my feet. This space station is bad enough and I’m actually a bit glad that I was sedated on my flight here.” He shivers.
Poor guy, not everyone is made for space travel. I wonder how he copes with his sister who clearly likes flying to space with all her shopping trips to the space stations she told me about.
Thinking about Lucy, she too voices her preference. “For me, it’s A&D. Protecting myself and others just feels right to me… but I also can’t shake the feeling that there is more to that class than just shielding and stuff…” She frowns. “It just sounds wrong if there isn’t a counterpart with attack spells… I mean it has to be called A&D for a reason, right?”
I nod in agreement. “Yes, it just can’t be… There must be more and I will find it!”
Lucy looks up at me with a smile on her face. “You know what? Let’s find out together. We have two years here at the academy and maybe we will be together after that too.”
I smile back at her. “Yes, let’s do that.”
We sit there for a while talking a little more about it till Simon remembers the testing. “Oh shit, we have to look up our testing times before they miss us and shock us again as punishment!” He clearly is still a little traumatized about earlier, not that I can hold it against him. These shocks are not nice! And he’s right, we can’t miss our testing.
We all roll out our RHTs and I search for the testing. I don’t have to look for long, as there is a blinking red dot on the top right side. I click on it and text appears next to a floating plan of the station. There is a green dot saying “You” and a blue line showing the way, I have to follow to my destination on… level 04? Isn’t that off-limits? “Hey guys, do you also have to go down to level 04?” The others decline.
“No, I must go to level 45 right about now. See you later.” Jack says and starts hurrying away. Greg and Lucy too have to go there but at a later time and leave as well.
That leaves me with Simon whose eyes are still glued to the tablet. “I’ve got to go to level 04 too,” he mutters. “Must be a Space Mage thing, right?” Not that I know more, but I confirm just to calm him down a little. Being ordered to off-limit levels truly sounds like the start of something nefarious. I hope it’s going to be okay.
We come across our first hurdle in the elevator, which doesn’t let us travel down to level 04 because of the off-limits restriction. Remembering the problem at my room door, I state my name and the elevator gives out an approving chime but does not move until Simon states his too.
Let’s see what awaits us down there…